Burnley boss Sean Dyche on playing out the season behind closed doors, a potential return date, and using Wembley

The Clarets boss' preference remains to fulfil the club's last nine fixtures, however long it takes, before looking at how to structure a break between seasons, the transfer window and start of the next campaign.

It has been suggested that the Premier League could look at plans for Serie A in Italy to play the remainder of 2020 without fans - with Juventus already beating title rivals Inter in an empty Allianz Stadium in Turin before lockdown.

Dyche accepts if that has to be the case to finish the current season, providing there is television coverage for supporters to see the games, so be it.

He said: "I think if it was that or nothing, I'd take behind closed doors all day.

"It would be such a weird thing not to finish a season.

"It would still be weird, but it could be beamed out and give people a bit of distant sport through a TV.

"I still think that's better than no football, and no sport."

In England, all football below the National League has been expunged, while in Scotland, the SPFL's resolution on ending the lower-league season looks like being backed by clubs.

Dyche feels the finances involved at Premier League level means the clubs will look to complete the season, with TV revenues at stake: "I don't know all the complexities of the Scottish side of things, but there will be heavy numbers involved in the Premier League, and that does have a knock-on to the state, don't forget, with all the tax paid and the revenue it brings in.

"Not only that, the feelgood factor, in Scotland as well, people watching football whether that is in stadiums, which we know is unlikely at this time, or through the TV.

"I think there is a public emotional side to football, but also a revenue side, and hopefully they will come together to how everyone wants it to be delivered, and that's what we're looking at at this time."

Again, there are reports of a date of June 6th being pencilled in by the Premier League and EPL, with plans for clubs to return to training in mid-May.

But Dyche and Burnley have set no timeframe for a return to Barnfield, as he awaits further guidance from the government and Premier League officials: "At the minute I'm getting news on a weekly basis from the Premier League meetings.

"They are keeping up to date through the chairman and the powers that be.

"The last news I heard was just general knowledge that is very similar to what you're getting from the government, as we're still under government guidelines really.

"From what I know, what the government are explaining to the Premier League. and therefore we are going by that.

"I haven't been given exact dates. There's a generalised view on the news of another two and a half to three weeks of lockdown, which seems to be going around.

"So, to be honest, I think we'll just get in line with what the UK is doing.

"I haven't heard that there will be any special dispensation, I think we will fall in line with what the UK is doing."

The FA has reportedly offered the use of Wembley and St George's Park to the Premier League in a bid to complete the season, but again, Dyche wonders how the logistics of that would work: "I don't know how easy that is, I presume for that to happen there must be all kinds of logistical problems, quarantine rules and all that sort of stuff.

"I don't know, whatever they are attempting to do, I do think there is a thirst to get the season played.

"That's the main thing, I do think there is a thirst from all parties to get the season played.

"Working backwards from that will be the key - within government guidelines, things that can can achieve, rather than what we can't, and trying to focus on that.

"I still think it revolves around time, and how long it takes to get started, and the world returns to something like normality, and how we can fit in line with that."

The longer the game is shutdown, the more detached we get from the current season, however, with Burnley's seven-game unbeaten run before the outbreak fading from memory.

Dyche was the Premier League's manager of the month for February, but he accepts it will almost be like a fresh start: "That is the complexity, from our point of view, we came off in a real good run of form, and then there's this restart button, although it's not the restart you get at the start of a season.

"And then there's the knock-on complexities from that.

"First of all, the main thing is the restart and completing this season, and then, of course, how much of a break can you then have before next season.

"Don't get me wrong, I think completing this season is still the primary goal at this moment, but how quickly do you then look at the second phase of when can the next season start, and all the complexities of that.

"As you know, this is not a break, it's just a weird thing none of us have ever been through, so I don't know.

"The first view is can we get it up and running?

"Beyond that is, what is the knock-on effect of getting it up and running?"